The Best Horror of the Year

Editor

SUMMATION 2013

First, here are some numbers: There are twenty-three stories and one poem included this year. They were chosen from magazines, webzines, anthologies, single author collections, chapbooks, and a newspaper. Five of the stories were originally published by Black Static. Twelve of the stories are by writers living in England, Ireland, and Wales—the first time that’s ever happened. In addition, there are two stories written by writers living in Canada and eight by writers living in the United States.

Three pieces are more than 10,000 words, the longest is 15,800 words. The shortest is 1,100 words.

The authors of the one poem and ten of the stories have never appeared in previous volumes of my year’s bests. Eighteen stories are by men. Five stories and the poem are by women.

There are always a few novellas that I wish I could have taken but were just too long. Here are the ones from 2013: Nina Allan’s Vivian Guppy and the Brighton Belle from Rustblind and Silverbright; Norman Partridge’s The Mummy’s Heart from Halloween; Black Helicopters by Caitlín R. Kiernan, published as a hardcover chapbook included with the limited edition of Kiernan’s collection The Ape’s Wife; Mother of Stone by John Langan from his collection The Wide, Carnivorous Sky; and Laird Barron’s Termination Dust from Tales of Jack the Ripper.

AWARDS

The Horror Writers Association chose a historic hotel in the haunted city of New Orleans to announce the winners of the 2012 Bram Stoker Awards® June 15, 2013. The presentations were made at a banquet held as the highlight of the Bram Stoker Awards Weekend, which, in 2012, incorporated the World Horror Convention. The winners:

Superior Achievement in a Novel: The Drowning Girl by Caitlín R. Kiernan (Roc); Superior Achievement in a First Novel: Life Rage by L. L. Soares (Nightscape Press); Superior Achievement in a Young Adult Novel: Flesh & Bone by Jonathan Maberry (Simon & Schuster); Superior Achievement in a Graphic Novel: Witch Hunts: A Graphic History of the Burning Times by Rocky Wood and Lisa Morton (McFarland and Co., Inc.); Superior Achievement in Long Fiction: The Blue Heron by Gene O’Neill (Dark Regions Press); Superior Achievement in Short Fiction: Magdala Amygdala by Lucy Snyder (Dark Faith: Invocations, Apex Book Company); Superior Achievement in a Screenplay: The Cabin in the Woods by Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard (Mutant Enemy Productions, Lionsgate); Superior Achievement in an Anthology: Shadow Show edited by Mort Castle and Sam Weller (HarperCollins); Superior Achievement in a Fiction Collection: (tie) New Moon on the Water by Mort Castle (Dark Regions Press) Black Dahlia and White Rose: Stories by Joyce Carol Oates (Ecco Press); Superior Achievement in Non Fiction: Trick or Treat: A History of Halloween by Lisa Morton (Reaktion Books); Superior Achievement in a Poetry Collection: Vampires, Zombies & Wanton Souls by Marge Simon (Elektrik Milk Bath Press).

The Shirley Jackson Award, recognizing the legacy of Jackson’s writing, and with permission of her estate, was established for outstanding achievement in the literature of psychological suspense, horror, and the dark fantastic. The awards were announced at Readercon 23, July 14, 2013, held in Burlington, Massachusetts. Jurors were Laird Barron, Ellen Datlow, Chesya Burke, Jack Haringa, and Graham Sleight.

The winners for the best work in 2012: Novel: Edge, Koji Suzuki (Vertical, Inc.) Novella: Sky, Kaaron Warren (Through Splintered Walls, Twelfth Planet Press); Novelette: Reeling for the Empire, Karen Russell (Tin House, Winter 2012); Short Story: A Natural History of Autumn, Jeffrey Ford (Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, July/August 2012); Single-Author Collection: Crackpot Palace, Jeffrey Ford (William Morrow); Edited Anthology: Exotic Gothic 4: Postscripts #28/29, edited by Danel Olson (PS Publishing).

The World Fantasy Awards were presented November 3, 2013, at a banquet held during the World Fantasy Convention in Brighton, England. The Lifetime Achievement recipients, Susan Cooper and Tanith Lee, were previously announced. Brian Aldiss and William F. Nolan were given special awards.

Winners for the best work in 2012: Novel: Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson (Grove; Corvus); Novella: Let Maps to Others, K. J. Parker (Subterranean Summer ’12); Short Story: The Telling, Gregory Norman Bossert (Beneath Ceaseless Skies 11/29/12); Anthology: Postscripts #28/#29: Exotic Gothic 4, Danel Olson, ed. (PS Publishing); Collection: Where Furnaces Burn, Joel Lane (PS Publishing); Artist: Vincent Chong; Special Award: Professional: Lucia Graves for the translation of The Prisoner of Heaven (Weidenfeld & Nicholson; Harper) by Carlos Ruiz Zafon; Special Award: Non-Professional: S. T. Joshi for Unutterable Horror: A History of Supernatural Fiction, Volumes 1 & 2 (PS Publishing).

NOTABLE NOVELS OF 2013

London Falling by Paul Cornell (Tor UK 2012/Tor/Forge 2013) is an engrossing dark urban fantasy/police procedural about strange doings in contemporary London. After two undercover cops participate in the increasingly strange end game of a criminal gang and its leader, they’re assigned to a special squad looking into a series of impossible and grisly slayings.

Blood Oranges by Kathleen Tierney aka Caitlín R. Kiernan (Roc) is a breezy and bloody romp about a young junky who fancies herself a monster killer and finds herself in the unlucky (and unique) position of being bitten by a werewolf and a vampire.

Red Moon by Benjamin Percy (Grand Central Publishing) is a werewolf novel that’s not about werewolves. It’s a political mash-up of terrorism and recent United States history. Often werewolves are partly used as metaphors for the beast within but, in most novels about them, this is not the main event—unfortunately, in Red Moon, the werewolf is all metaphor. In fact, the big bad master werewolf is barely in the book and is dispatched as if he’s just more fodder for destruction.

American Elsewhere by Robert Jackson Bennett (Orbit) is one of my favorite novels of the year. When a burned out, divorced former cop inherits the house she didn’t know her mother (dead many years from suicide) owned in a town no one has ever heard of called Wink, Mona Bright decides to check it out, hoping to learn more about the mother she barely remembers. As the story rolls on, it expertly blends elements of science fiction, dark fantasy, and horror, all folded into the primary mystery of this Bradburyesque town.

The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes (Mulholland Books) is a riveting thriller about a time-tripping serial killer and his only survivor. The novel provides a portrait of Chicago throughout the decades from the 1929 depression on. A mysterious house gives agency to an evil sadist who we see begins by torturing animals and moves to snuffing out young women who he has visited as children in the past, chosen for their promise.

Kill City Blues by Richard Kadrey (HarperCollins) is the fifth of the author’s Sandman Slim novels, about a Nephilim (half man-half angel) who has died, been resurrected, and traveled to Hell and back—more than once. Down and dirty urban dark fantasy with enough murder, mayhem, and gore to satisfy readers looking for adventure, and complicated moral/ theological issues to please readers looking for a bit more. James Stark (aka Sandman Slim), is living in Los Angeles minding his own business when, as always, trouble comes a calling. Someone wants to hire him to find a missing weapon and won’t take no for an answer.

Mayhem by Sarah Pinborough (Jo Fletcher Books) brings Victorian London to life in this supernatural police procedural about a brutal serial killer active during the same period as Jack the Ripper. This one dismembers and takes the heads of his victims. A pitiful male Cassandra sees the future, but is unable to persuade anyone to take him seriously, and a detective prone to roaming the streets of London (and partaking of opium) may be the only ones who can stop the murderer.

Murder as a Fine Art by David Morrell (Mulholland Books) is the perfect complement to Pinborough’s novel. It too takes place in London, is about a serial killer, and has a character enamored of (or rather, addicted to) opium—in this case based on the historical figure Thomas de Quincy, who, in addition to writing the infamous Confessions of an Opium Eater, also wrote crime essays, including On Murder Considered as One of the Fine Arts. This latter article seems to be inspiring a spate of vicious mass murders similar to a series that took place years earlier.

Accidents Happen by Louise Millar (Emily Bestler Books) is about a woman traumatized by the death of her parents in a car accident the day of her wedding, and then the murder of her husband just a few years later. Fleeing London, she takes refuge in Oxford and in the world of statistics, driving herself crazy and screwing up her son. Then she meets a Scottish professor at Oxford University who believes he can help her. Unfortunately his cure is almost as bad as her sickness, plus she and her son are being stalked by a nutter. Although the first half is suspenseful and creepy, the second half devolves into unconvincing territory.

Six-Gun Tarot by R. S. Belcher (Tor) is a rousing first novel taking place in the weird wild west of 1869 cattle town Golgotha, Nevada. A seemingly unkillable sheriff and his half-Indian deputy are responsible for keeping the citizenry—a mixture of Christians, Mormons, Chinese immigrants, and rough-and-tumble silver miners—safe from bad stuff happening in town (and apparently it happens with regularity). The book is an entertaining mishmash of godly infighting to control Earth, featuring Lovecraftian Elder gods vs. the Judeo Christian Gods vs. the Goddess. Title and chapter heads heralding the tarot are misleading, as the plot makes no use of it.

The Darkling by R. B. Chesterton aka Carolyn Haines (Pegasus Books) is a southern gothic taking place in 1974, about an amnesiac teenage girl discovered wandering the streets and taken in by a family in Coden, Alabama. The live-in tutor, only a few years older than the newcomer, is immediately suspicious of the young woman, not to mention fearful of being displaced from her own secure niche within this happy, loving family. Of course, the mysterious teenager seduces her way into the family and things go badly for everyone. Alas, the prologue kills any surprise before the book actually begins.

Night Film by Marisha Pessl (Random House) is, if possible, both a page-turner and a slow burn of a novel in one of my favorite subgenres: film horror. Scott McGrath is an investigative reporter intrigued by the mysterious, reclusive underground filmmaker Stanislas Cordova, whose movies are disturbing, horrifying, addictive, and often difficult to track down. There have always been dark rumors swirling about the director’s working methods and when McGrath gets too close, he’s set up—leaving his reputation and career shot to Hell. But he’s sucked back into the world of Cordova when the director’s twenty-four-year-old daughter falls to her death in a derelict building. Fuelled by anger and bent on vengeance, McGrath sets out to prove that Cordova is responsible for his daughter’s death. I particularly love the visionary weirdness reminiscent of John Fowles’ great novel, The Magus.

The Burn Palace by Stephen Dobyns (Blue Rider Press) opens strongly with the disappearance of a newborn baby and the scalping of a middle-aged man. These incidents and other frightening occurrences are making the residents of the town of Brewster jittery. There are hints of the supernatural throughout: a young boy works on developing his skills in telekinesis; local coyotes don’t behave the way coyotes should; large, goat-like two-legged footprints are discovered; and a family man seemingly transforms into a rabid animal. Over the course of the novel, the sense of unease created by the non-supernatural behavior of the humans in town takes precedence over the otherworldly, but this shift doesn’t decrease the suspense. Dobyns has delved in the dark with two excellent previous novels, specifically in The Two Deaths of Senora Puccini and The Church of Dead Girls.

N0S4A2 by Joe Hill (William Morrow) is rich in characterization and a terrifically satisfying read. We follow Vic through a magical girlhood during which she discovers an impossible bridge to the past where she can find lost objects. Unfortunately, she’s also noticed by an evil piece of work named Charlie Manx and his sadistic lunatic sidekick named Bing who kidnap children and take them to Christmasland in a vintage Rolls Royce nicknamed The Wraith. The encounter reverberates through the rest of Vic’s troubled life.

Dust Devil on a Quiet Street by Richard Bowes (Lethe Press) is a fictional memoir beautifully incorporating fourteen previously published (I originally published five) fantasy and dark fantasy stories of the ghosts—figurative and literal—that haunt us all throughout our lives. Bowes’ book is a fascinating look at life in Boston and New York in the decades leading up to 9/11, an event that changed Manhattan—and the world—forever. The Village Sang to the Sea: A Memoir of Magic by Bruce McAllister (Aeon Press Books) is another successful incorporation of eight previously published stories into a coming-of-age story, this one about a young American boy moving with his family to a small village in Italy.

ALSO NOTED

Stephen King returned to the world of The Shining with Doctor Sleep (Scribner), a sequel starring the grown-up Danny Torrance. He also published the relatively short supernatural/crime/coming-of-age novel Joyland (Hard Case Crime) about a twenty-one-year-old who works at the eponymous amusement park the summer of 1973. Neil Gaiman’s The Ocean at the End of the Lane (William Morrow), his first adult novel since Anansi Boys, is a dark magical fairy tale. We are Here by Michael Marshall (Orion) is about two couples encountering strangers who want … something from them. Deeply Odd by Dean Koontz (Bantam) is the sixth volume in the Odd series. What Happens in the Darkness by Monica O’Rourke (Sinister Grin) has a twelve-year-old girl struggling for survival in a mostly destroyed Manhattan. Parasite by Mira Grant (Orbit) is a near-future medical thriller about genetically engineered tapeworms. The Year of the Ladybird by Graham Joyce (Gollancz) is a ghost story about a young man who takes a summer job at a seaside resort in 1976, the year of a great ladybird (ladybug in the United States) invasion plus great social upheaval in England. A Necessary End by Sarah Pinborough and F. Paul Wilson (Shadowridge Press) is about a plague of flies that spreads a fatal auto-immune disease throughout the world and the aftermath. The Asylum by John Harwood (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) is a gothic about a woman who awakens in a private asylum with no memory of the past weeks. When she can’t prove who she is, she’s held prisoner. The Gospel of Z by the prolific Stephen Graham Jones (Samhain) takes a dangerous trip into the past, ten years after zombies destroyed the world. Anno Dracula: Johnny Alucard 1976–1991 by Kim Newman (Titan Books) is the newest novel in Newman’s Anno Dracula series, this time with a new younger vampire who moves to Manhattan in the 1980s and wreaks havoc. Kitty Rocks the House by Carrie Vaughn (Tor) is the eleventh in this urban fantasy series about the eponymous werewolf named Kitty. The Wolves of Midwinter by Anne Rice (Knopf) is a werewolf novel, the second in the Wolf Gift Chronicles series. The Abominable by Dan Simmons (Little, Brown) is about the 1924 Mt. Everest recovery expedition to bring back the corpse of an earlier climber. Island 731 by Jeremy Robinson (St. Martin’s Press/ Dunne) is a horror/thriller inspired by The Island of Doctor Moreau. Long Black Coffin by Tim Curran (Dark Fuse) is about a deadly car. The Heavens Rise by Christopher Rice (Gallery Books) takes place in New Orleans, where a wealthy family has finds a well with strange powers on their property. Days after the daughter and a schoolmate are immersed in the water, she and her family are presumed dead and the boy jumps from a high rise, surviving in a comatose state. It becomes apparent that despite his coma, he can psychically cause devastation in the physical world. The Accursed by Joyce Carol Oates (Ecco) is an account of a local curse in Princeton, New Jersey, 1905–1906, provided by an obnoxious amateur historian. The Least of My Scars by Stephen Graham Jones (Broken River Books) is a snappy, edgy (always with Jones), weird little novel about a deranged serial killer. The Tale of Raw Head & Bloody Bones by Jack Wolff (Penguin) is about a demented young man studying medicine in London in 1751. Rivers by Michael Farris Smith (Simon & Schuster) is about a man who has lost everything to a series of southern hurricanes and, who when migrating north, encounters a dangerous preacher and his congregation. The Ruining by Anna Collomore (Razorbill) is a young adult novel inspired by Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper. Daddy Love by Joyce Carol Oates (Grove Atlantic/Mysterious Press) is about child abduction and abuse when a young boy is kidnapped by a sadistic, part-time reverend. Gun Machine by Warren Ellis (Mulholland Books) is a bizarre crime novel about a detective who comes upon a cache of guns all connected to unsolved crimes. The One I Left Behind by Jennifer McMahon (William Morrow) is about a middle-aged woman forced to confront the past when her mother, who had been abducted by a serial killer twenty-five years earlier, shows up alive. Evil and the Mask by Fuminori Nakamura (Soho Crime) is about a child educated by his wealthy, enigmatic father to create as much destruction and unhappiness in the world around him as a single person can. Only the Thunder Knows by Gord Rollo (Journalstone) is about Burke and Hare, the infamous grave robbers and murderers flourishing in late 1820s Scotland, and the possible accomplices who egged them on, for reasons of their own. Sister Mine by Nalo Hopkinson (Grand Central) is a dark fantasy about formerly conjoined twins faced with the mystery surrounding their birth. The ’Geisters by David Nickel (CZP) is about a young woman haunted by the imaginary friend/poltergeist she thought she’d gotten under control as a child. Malediction by Lisa Morton (Evil Jester Press) is about a teenage girl who arrives in Los Angeles determined to use her psychic abilities to destroy everything in her path and the only two residents that might be able to stop her.

First novels: Bait by J. Kent Messum (Plume) is an ugly little book about six junkies who are strangers and find themselves on an island with no heroin. They’re forced to swim to another island for their next fix. Are there sharks? Of course there are sharks. The Golem and the Jinn by Helen Wecker (HarperCollins) is about the relationship of two magical creatures that mysteriously appear in the New York of 1899. Splintered by A. G. Howard (Abrams/Amulet) is a young adult dark retelling of Alice in Wonderland. Rage Against the Dying by Becky Masterman (Minotaur) is about a former FBI agent drawn back into one of her unsolved cases involving a sexual predator. The Black Fire Concerto by Mike Allen (Haunted Stars) is the author/editor’s first novel. A young harpist residing on a river boat infested by ghouls is drawn into a fight to save the world by using her music as magic—dark and light. Stoker’s Manuscript by Royce Prouty’s (Putnam) is about a manuscript and handwriting expert lured back to his native Rumania to authenticate the original draft of Stoker’s Dracula. Longtime Lovecraft expert S. T. Joshi’s first novel, The Assaults of Chaos: A Novel About H. P. Lovecraft (Hippocampus Press), celebrates Lovecraft’s life and his work. The Year of the Storm by John Mantooth (Berkley) is about a young boy searching for his mother and sister after they disappeared in a violent storm. Harrowgate by Kate Maruyama (47 North) is about a man faced with increasingly bizarre behavior in his wife after the birth of their son.

MAGAZINES, JOURNALS, AND WEBZINES

It’s important to recognize the work of the talented artists working in the field of fantastic fiction, both dark and light. The following artists created art that I thought especially noteworthy during 2013: Teresa Tunaley, Dominic Black, Dave Senecal, Yuri Kabisher, Tara Bush, Kinuko Y. Craft, David Gentry, Vincent Sammy, Tessa Chuddy, Soufiane Idrassi, Carlos Araujo, Saber Core, Sarah Emerson, Rasa Dilyte, Athine Saloniti, Brigitte-Fredensborg, Akura Pare, Linda Saboe, Nick Gucker, Ben Baldwin, John Kaaine, Mike Dominic, Eric Lacombe, Anja Millen, Kate Harrison, Lynette Watters, Stephen Upham, Melissa Gannon, Azathoth, Tais Teng, Joachim Luetke, Sam Dawson, Mikio Murakami, Richard Wagner, Tom Brown, Ed Binkley, Miles Tittle, Stephen J. Clark, Reggie Oliver, Danielle Serra, George Cotronis, Oliver Wetter, Richard Wagner, Erin Wells, Edward Miller, David Ho, Ashley Mackenzie, Szymon Siwak, David Rix, Keith Miller, Louise Boyd, Lauren Rogers, Amandine van Ray, Katerina Apostolakou, Johannes Amm, Pauline De Hoe, Martin Wydooghe, Richard Anderson, Jon Foster, Greg Ruth, Chris Buzelli, Red Nose Studio, Victo Ngai, John Jude Palencar, John Picacio, Robert Hunt, Gregory Manchess, Anna and Elena Balbusso, Goni Montes, Karla Ortiz, Nicolas Delort, Pascal Campion, Sam Wolfe Connelly, Erik Mohr, Harry Morris, and Justin Aerni.

The British Fantasy Society’s Journal is a quarterly perk of membership in the British Fantasy Society and was edited in late 2012 throughout 2013 by Cavan Scott, Stuart Douglas, Guy Adams, and Ian Hunter. The Journal includes fiction, poetry, regular columns, and nonfiction articles. There were strong stories during 2013 by Clare Le May, Aliya Whiteley, and Joel Lord.

Ghosts & Scholars M.R. James Newsletter, edited by Rosemary Pardoe, continues to be published periodically. Two issues came out in 2013, and they included news of the field, articles, reviews, a letter column, and some original fiction. There were notable stories by Chico Kidd, Jane Jakeman, and Peter Bell.

The Friends of Arthur Machen is a society whose stated intention is to encourage a wider recognition of Machen’s work, foster familiarity with his work, and provide a focus for critical debate. Members receive the twice yearly newsletter, Machenalia, edited by Gwilym Games, and the twice yearly journal, Faunus, edited by James Machin, which has Machen-related material in it.

The Silent Companion, edited by António Monteiro, is an annual fiction magazine that comes as part of the subscription price to A Ghostly Company, an informal literary society devoted to the ghost story in all its forms. The group produces a quarterly, non fiction newsletter containing articles, letters, and book reviews. The fiction magazine featured seven stories, the strongest by Mark Nicholls and Christopher Harman.

The Green Book: Writings on Irish Gothic Supernatural and Fantastic Literature, edited by Brian J. Showers, debuted with two issues and is a welcome addition to the realm of accessible nonfiction about supernatural horror. These issues include essays about the plays of Conor McPherson, Le Fanu’s use of the oral tradition in his works, Lord Dunsany’s connections to the Irish Arts and Crafts movement, and plenty of other interesting material, including book reviews.

Black Static, edited by Andy Cox, is one of the best horror magazines in looks and content and is well-worth your money for its fiction, book, television, and movie reviews. My favorite stories in 2013 were by Drew Rhys White, Jacob A. Boyd, Tim Casson, James Cooper, Steven J. Dines, Jason Gould, Andrew Hook, V. H. Leslie, Ray Cluley, Nina Allan, Joel Lane, Ilan Lerman, and Steve Rasnic Tem. Stories by Priya Sharma, Ray Cluley, Tim Casson, Steve Rasnic Tem, and Stephen Bacon are reprinted herein.

Shadows & Tall Trees, edited by Michael Kelly, brought out one issue in 2013 and will move to an annual anthology in print and ebook format in 2014. The eight supernatural stories were all good, but those that stood out for me were by Lynda E. Rucker, Daniel Mills, Ray Cluley, D. P. Watt, and Richard Gavin. There was also a brief essay about Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s story The Yellow Wallpaper.

Supernatural Tales, edited by David Longhorn, continues its excellent run as a digest-sized journal from England. Three issues were published in 2013, with notable stories by Christopher Harmon, Chloe N. Clark, Iain Rowen, Sam Dawson, Sean Logan, John Llewellyn Probert, Jane Jakeman, Stephen Goldsmith, and Michael Chislett. The Jakeman is reprinted herein.

Not One of Us, edited by John Benson, is published twice a year and contains stories and poetry. In 2013 there were notable stories and poetry by Mat Joiner, Patricia Russo, and Adrienne J. Odasso. In addition, Benson puts out an annual one-off on a specific theme. The theme for 2013 was Lost and Lonely and there was good fiction and poetry by Patricia Russo and K. S. Hardy.

Nightmare: Horror and Dark Fantasy, edited by John Joseph Adams, is one of only a handful of webzines dedicated to publishing horror fiction, articles on horror, and art. It had a good year in 2013 with notable stories by Tanith Lee, Marc Laidlaw, David Tallerman, Carrie Vaughn, Brit Mandelo, Brooke Bolander, Jennifer Giesbrecht, Alison Littlewood, C. S. McMullen, Sam J. Miller, Tamsyn Muir, Linda Nagata, Norman Partridge, David J. Schow, Lynda E. Rucker, and Jeff VanderMeer. The Rucker and Nagata are reprinted herein.

Innsmouth Magazine, edited by Paula R. Stiles and Silvia Moreno-Garcia, moved into print November 2013 with issue #14. During the year, there were notable stories by Steve Toase and E. Catherine Tobler. The Toase story is reprinted herein.

Primeval: A Journal of the Uncanny, edited by G. Winston Hyatt, debuted in the fall and plans to be publish in print semi-annually. The magazine is dedicated to examining the convergence of contemporary anxiety and ancient impulse. The first issue had reprints by Harlan Ellison and Saki and a loosely structured, experimental new story by Laird Barron; plus essays and an odd screed by Adam Rose, Artistic Director of Antibody Corporation, a non-profit organization specializing in mind-body and occult research. It also featured an interview with Jack Ketchum. The issue is interesting but with no real focus. It’ll be interesting to see if it finds a large enough audience to stay afloat.

The Dark, a new bi-monthly webzine of dark fantasy and strange fiction edited by Jack Fisher and Sean Wallace, debuted in October and managed to get out a second issue before the end of the year. The two issues had notable fiction by Angela Slatter, Nnedi Okorafor, and E. Catherine Tobler.

Midnight Echo is the magazine of the Australian Horror Writers Association. The ninth issue, edited by G. N. Braun, focused on myths and legends, with non fiction and fiction. Issue 10 was edited by Craig Bezant. There was notable horror by James A. Moore, Kristin Dearborn, and Amanda J. Spedding.

Cemetery Dance, edited by Richard Chizmar, has been around for twenty-five years and has featured lots of fiction, interviews, and reviews over the years. In 2013, two issues were published with notable stories by Kealan Patrick Burke, Brian James Freeman, Kaaron Warren, P. D. Cacek, Robert Dunbar, and a collaboration by Jack Ketchum and Lucky McKee.

Lovecraft E-zine, edited by Mike Davis, is the online portal for everything Lovecraftian, from regularly publishing new fiction and criticism, holding video interviews (I’ve been on a number of times) and podcasts, a page with Lovecraftian movies available for free on YouTube, and a blog. During 2013, there were notable stories by Samantha Henderson and a good collaboration by David Conyers and John Goodrich.

Dark Moon Digest, edited by Stan Swanson, is a quarterly, which, in addition to regular issues, also published a special YA issue in 2013. There were notable stories by Steve Scott, Joe McKinney, and P. B. Kane.

Three-Lobed Burning Eye, edited by Andrew S. Fuller, has been publishing dark and weird fiction since 1999 and is currently trying to bring out two issues a year. There was a notable story by Lawrence Conquest in #23, but #24 was published too late for me to cover it.

Postscripts to Darkness, edited by Sean Moreland, calls itself an anthology, but, with interviews and a twice yearly schedule, it seems more like a magazine. One notable story by Ralph Robert Moore.

Shock Totem, edited by K. Allen Wood, had two issues out in 2013 with notable fiction by P. K. Gardner and M. Bennardo.

The Horror Zine, edited by Jeani Rector, is a monthly e-zine that has been publishing fiction, poetry, art, small press book reviews, and independent film reviews since 2009. There was an excellent poem by Joe R. Lansdale published on the site in 2013.

MIXED-GENRE MAGAZINES

Aurealis, edited by Dirk Strasser, Stephen Higgins, and Michael Pryor, is one of only a few long-running Australian genre magazines. It went to a monthly online schedule in 2011. During 2013, there was strong horror by James Bradley, Jason Franks, O. J. Cade, and C. S. McMullen. On Spec is Canada’s premiere genre magazine and has been published quarterly by the Copper Pig Writers’ Society, a revolving committee of volunteers, for a very long time. They always publish an interesting mix of sf/f/h fiction and poetry with good, dark stories in 2013 by J. D. DeLuzio, Kevin Cockle, Tyrell Johnson, and David Gordon Buresh. There are also profiles and nonfiction articles. The Journal of Unlikely Entomology, edited by Bernie Mojzes and A. C. Wise, is self-described as an online magazine of fiction that delves into the world of things that creep and crawl and explores the limits of what it means to be human. The Journal publishes biannually in May and November with an additional roving mini-issue some time during the year. In 2013, that special issue was The Journal of Unlikely Architecture (#6), which was weirder than dark. The art is always topnotch, the fiction a mixed bag, with stories told from the point of view of insects usually less successfully than those not. There were notable dark stories by Nicole Cipri, Maria Dahvana Headley, Nghi Vo, and Nicole Belte. Electric Velocipede, edited by John Klima, announced that it would cease publication with its twenty-seventh issue, published December 2013. That issue and the previous one had strong dark fiction by Jamie Killen, Sam J. Miller, Lisa L. Hannett, and Brooke Juliet Wonders. Bourbon Penn, edited by Erik Secker, is published out of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and has some interesting fiction of different types. In 2013, there were notable dark stories by Sean Doolittle, Rebecca Schwarz, Jessica Hilt, and Will Kaufman. Kzine, edited by Graeme Hurry, is published three times a year and includes horror, sf, fantasy, and crime fiction. There were notable stories in 2013 by Donald McCarthy, Nicole Tanquary, and Gregory Marlow. Mythic Delirium, edited by Mike Allen, has been featuring notable sf/f/h prose and poetry since 1998. Although Allen started moving the magazine to online publication in 2013, he continued to publish a separate print issue through 2013. Throughout the year, there was notable dark poetry by Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam, S. Brackett Robertson, Alexandra Seidel, Liz Bourke, Georgina Bruce, C. S. Cooney, and Jennifer Crow. Apex Magazine is a monthly science fiction, fantasy, horror webzine edited by Lynn M. Thomas that had notable dark fiction and poetry by Emily Jiang, Tang Fei, Sarah Monette, Shira Lipkin, and Rachel Swirsky and two very good non-horror stories by E. Lily Yu and Maria Dahvana Headley. Ideomancer is a quarterly webzine edited by Leah Bobet that publishes a mix of sf/f/f. There were good, dark stories in 2013 by Sunny Moraine and Michael Matheson. The BFS Journal is edited by Sarah Newton, Stuart Douglas, and Ian Hunter and available to all members of the British Fantasy Society for free. There were notable stories by Clare Le May, Aliya Whiteley, and Joel Lord. Albedo One, edited by Frank Ludlow, David Murphy, and Robert Neilson, is the only genre magazine I’m aware of that’s published in Ireland. It runs sf, fantasy, and horror and regularly includes interviews and book reviews. There were two issues published in 2013 with notable dark stories by Kevin Brown and David Siddall. Crimewave: Hurts, edited by Andy Cox, has been missed. Issue #12, out late in 2013, was the first issue of this excellent crime/mystery magazine published in three years. The stories are rarely horror, but they’re usually dark and always readable. My favorites in the new issue are by Steven J. Dines, James Cooper, Melanie Tem, Stephen Bacon, Joel Lane, Tim Lees, and Antony Mann. Shimmer, edited by E. Catherine Tobler, had two issues out in 2013 with notable stories by Cate Gardner, Dennis Y. Ginoza, William Jablonsky, Alex Dally MacFarlane, Sunny Moraine, and Christie Yant. Interzone, edited by Andy Cox, is the sf/f sister to Black Static, but occasionally some quite dark pieces slip into Interzone. During 2013, there were notable dark stories by Greg Kurzawa, Damien Walters Grintalis, and Melanie Tem. The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, edited by Gordon Van Gelder, is a bi-monthly magazine that publishes sf/f/h in addition to columns, book and movie reviews, and a cartoon. During 2013, there was notable dark fiction by David Gerrold, Joe Haldeman, M. K. Hobson, Ken Liu, Bruce McAllister, Chen Qiufan (translated by Ken Liu), Michael Reaves, Dale Bailey, Harry Campion, Albert E. Cowdrey, Brendon Dubois, and KJ Kabza. The Kabza is reprinted herein. Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine is a monthly magazine edited by Sheila Williams and, in addition to sf/f (and the occasional horror story), also includes columns and reviews. During 2013, there were notable dark stories by Gregory Frost, Garrett Ashley, Jack Dann, Nancy Kress, Kit Reed, and Leah Thomas. Black Candies: See Through is the 2013 edition of an annual literary horror journal published by So Say We All Press. Many of the stories are interesting but only a few are dark. The best of those were by Adrian Van Young, C. A. Schaefer, and Julia Evans. Phantom Drift: A Journal of New Fabulism, edited by David Memmott, Martha Bayliss, Leslie What, and Matt Schumacher, is an annual published in the fall. The 2013 issue has excellent dark fiction and poetry by Zoltán Komor, Julia Patt, and Jeannine Hall Gailey. The Gailey is reprinted herein. McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern, edited by Will Georgantas, often has darker material within its pages. Issue 45: Hitchcock and Bradbury Fist Fight in Heaven was especially rich with classic reprints by Ray Bradbury, Roald Dahl, and Frederic Brown and new dark stories by Brian Evenson and China Miéville.

ANTHOLOGIES

Chilling Tales: In Words, Alas, Drown I, edited by Michael Kelly (Edge), is the second volume of new, non-theme horror stories in what I hope will be a series. There are some excellent stories among the twenty, including those by David Nickle, Sandra Kasturi, Catherine MacLeod, Ian Rogers, Derek Künsken, Helen Marshall, Simon Strantzas, Daniel LeMoal, and Michael Matheson. The Künsken is reprinted herein.

Dark World: Ghost Stories, edited by Timothy Parker Russell (Tartarus Press), has fourteen stories, all but one original to the anthology. There are notable stories by Steve Rasnic Tem, Anna Taborska, Jason A. Wyckoff, Mark J. Saxton, John Gaskin, Rhys Hughes, and Reggie Oliver. The book is a fundraiser for the Amala Children’s Home in the Tamil Nadu region of India. For more information on the project, visit www.amalatrust.org.

The Grimscribe’s Puppets, edited by Joseph S. Pulver, Sr. (Miskatonic River Press), is a tribute to weird fiction writer Thomas Ligotti with twenty-two stories, all but one published for the first time. Most of the contributors do an admirable job using Ligotti’s dense, visionary, strange work to create their own weird fictions. There were notable stories by Livia Llewellyn, John Langan, Gemma Files, Jeffrey Thomas, Paul G. Tremblay, Nicole Cushing, Richard Gavin, Michael Griffin, Michael Kelly, Joel Lane, and Kaaron Warren.

Deep Cuts: 19 Tales of Mayhem, Menace, and Misery, edited by Angel Leigh McCoy, E. S. Magill, and Chris Marrs (Evil Jester Press), is a an anthology created to celebrate women horror writers and was funded by Kickstarter. It features nineteen stories (all but three original) by both men and women, and each story is introduced by a woman writer who influenced the contributor. There are notable stories by R. S. Belcher, Samael Gyre, Michael Haynes, Sandra M. Odell, Stephen Woodworth, Colleen Anderson, James Chambers, and Scathe meic Boerh.

Exotic Gothic 5 Volumes I and II, edited by Danel Olson (PS Publishing), has doubled its size to twenty-six stories, split between two volumes. There are notable stories by Nick Antosca, Kola Boof, Terry Dowling, Lucy Taylor, Reggie Oliver, Sheri Holman, Deborah Noyes, John Llewellyn Probert, and Anna Taborska.

Dead North: Canadian Zombie Fiction, edited by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Exile Editions), is, as is evident from the title, a zombie anthology—a good one. There are five reprints and fifteen new stories, with excellent originals by Rhea Rose, Jamie Mason, Sèphera Girón, Tyler Keevil, and Simon Strantzas. The Strantzas is reprinted herein.

Turn Down the Lights, edited by Richard Chizmar (Cemetery Dance Publications), celebrates twenty-five years of Cemetery Dance Magazine with ten entertaining stories (all new but for the Ed Gorman) by Stephen King, Clive Barker, Peter Straub, and six other writers who have appeared in the long-running horror magazine.

Shadow Masters: An Anthology from The Horror Zine, edited by Jeani Rector (Imajin Books), presents thirty-seven previously unpublished stories. The more interesting ones are by Chris Castle, Simon Clark, Elizabeth Massie, and Yvonne Navarro. The Clark is reprinted herein.

Arcane II, edited by Nathan Shumate (Cold Fusion Media), is an un-themed anthology showcasing twenty-one stories of dark fantasy, horror, and weird fiction. There are notable stories by Harry Markov, Patrick S. McGinnity, Craig Pay, Priya Sharma, Anna Sykora, Nicole M. Taylor, Steve Toase, Andrew Bourelle, and Eric Dimbleby.

Undead & Unbound: Unexpected Tales from Beyond the Grave, edited by Brian M. Sammons and David Conyers (Chaosium, Inc), presents nineteen stories about people who return from the grave. There are notable stories by Gary McMahon, Robert Neilson, David Dunwoody, and Mercedes M. Yardley.

Tales of Jack the Ripper, edited by Ross E. Lockhart (Word Horde), is the first book out from this new California publisher and marks the 125th anniversary of one of the most famous serial killers of all time. Most of the nineteen stories and poems are original to the anthology, and the most interesting ones are by T. E. Grau, Laird Barron, Orrin Grey, Joseph S. Pulver, Jr., and E. Catherine Tobler.

Fearie Tales: Stories of the Grimm and Gruesome, edited by Stephen Jones and illustrated by Alan Lee (Jo Fletcher Books), takes the retold fairy tale sub genre, already claimed and used exquisitely in fantasy and dark fantasy fiction, deep into horror territory. Each of the fifteen stories has a précis of the original story and a black-and-white illustration by Lee.

There are notable stories by Ramsey Campbell, Peter Crowther, Brian Hodge, Tanith Lee, John Ajvide Lindqvist, Brian Lumley, Garth Nix, Reggie Oliver, Angela Slatter, Robert Shearman, and Michael Marshall Smith.

A Killer Among Demons, edited by Craig Bezant (Dark Prints Press), has ten new stories mixing crime and horror. The strongest are by Angela Slatter, Chris Large, William Meikle, and S. J. Dawson.

Second City Scares: A Horror Express Anthology, edited by Marc Shemmans (Horror Express Publications), features twelve horror stories that take place in Birmingham, England, including two by members of the editor’s family. There are notable stories by Mike Chinn, Joel Lane, John Howard, and David A. Sutton.

Vampires Don’t Sparkle, edited by Michael West (Seventh Star Press), has fifteen anti-Twilight vampire stories, all but three new. The strongest are by Lucy A. Snyder, Maurice Broaddus, and Douglas F. Warrick.

Gay City 5 Ghosts in Gaslight, Monsters in Steam, edited by Vincent Kovar and Evan J. Peterson (A Minor Arcana Press Incantation), is an interesting anthology of gay and lesbian horror. The title is misleading—few, if any of the thirty-seven stories, poems, and graphic novel are steampunk. There’s notable work by Ocean Vuong, Steve Berman, Gregory L. Norris, and Anthony Rella.

Anatomy of Death: In Five Sleazy Pieces, edited by Mark West (Hersham Horror Books), is an original anthology intended to provide a taste of the old lurid horror of the ’70s. It does, for better or worse, and while some of the stories are entertaining, most don’t stay with the reader longer than it takes to read them. There are notable stories by Stephen Bacon and John Llewellyn Probert, plus one by Stephen Volk that rivals the movie The Human Centipede for repulsiveness.

The Haunted Mansion Project Year Two, presented by Rain Graves and edited by Loren Rhoades (Damnation Books), is the end result of a writers retreat attended by seventeen horror writers in the fall of 2012. It includes essays, poems, and stories inspired by the weekend. The strongest stories and poems are by Weston Ochse, Sèphera Girón, Rain Graves, and Dan Weidman.

The Book of the Dead, edited by Jared Shurin (Jurassic London in partnership with the Egypt Exploration Society), has nineteen stories about mummies. The best are by Maria Dahvana Headley and Maurice Broaddus.

Eulogies II: Tales from the Cellar, edited by Christopher Jones, Nanci Kalanta, and Tony Tremblay (HW Press), contains thirty-two stories, with proceeds going to Tom and Michelle Piccirilli. There were strong stories by Michael Boatman, Gary McMahon, Gary A. Braunbeck, Eric J. Guignard, Malcolm Laughton, Thad Linson, and Monica O’Rourke.

Halloween: Magic, Mystery, and the Macabre, edited by Paula Guran (Prime Books), is a varied mix of seventeen original (and one reprint) stories about Halloween. All of the stories are readable, most are dark, a few are dark enough to consider horror. The strongest stories are by Brian Hodge, A. C. Wise, Lawrence C. Connolly, Maria V. Snyder, Stephen Graham Jones, Laird Barron, and Laure Bickle. There’s also a very fine horror novella by Norman Partridge.

The Burning Circus: BFS Horror 1, edited by Johnny Mains, is one of two special anthologies intended for members of the British Fantasy Society. The other is Unexpected Journeys, a fantasy anthology edited by Juliet E. McKenna. The Burning Circus is short, with no apparent theme, despite the title and includes eight stories, one a reprint. Ramsey Campbell provides the introduction. The strongest stories were by Stephen Volk, Adam Nevill, Lynda E. Rucker, and Angela Slatter.

The Mountains of Madness, edited by Robert M. Price (Dullahan Press), is an entertaining theme anthology of twelve stories centering and/or inspired by the H. P. Lovecraft’s novella of the same title. Some notable stories by Stephen Mark Rainey, Edward Morris, and Brian M. Sammons.

Bad Seeds: Evil Progeny, edited by Steve Berman (Prime), has twenty-seven horror stories about really nasty kids. With reprints by Stephen King, Peter Straub, Cassandra Clare, Holly Black, Joe R. Lansdale, and others. The best of the five originals is by Joel D. Lane.

Shadows Edge, edited by Simon Strantzas (Gray Friar Press), takes as its theme the edges between nightmare and reality, and although individually each story is quite good, unfortunately, as a group of fifteen, they seem awfully desolate/static. The standouts are those by Richard Gavin, Gary McMahon, Lisa Hannett, Simon Strantzas, Peter Bell, R. B. Russell, and John Langan.

Impossible Monsters, edited by Kasey Lansdale (Subterranean Press), is an entertaining anthology of twelve (all but one new) stories about new monsters. The meatiest stories are Chet Williamson’s tour de force that will make anyone who stays in hotel rooms totally paranoid and Joe R. Lansdale’s new adventures about supernatural sleuth Dana Roberts.

There were two volumes in the Terror Tales anthology series, edited by Paul Finch (Gray Friar Press): Terror Tales of the Seaside has fourteen horror stories taking place in the seaside towns of England. All but two stories are new. The strongest were by Gary Fry, Paul Kane, Reggie Oliver, Sam Stone, and Stephen Volk. Terror Tales of London features thirteen stories, ten published for the first time. The best were by Barbara Roden, Mark Morris, Nina Allan, Adam Nevill, and Rosalie Parker. The Allan is reprinted herein.

Barbers & Beauties, edited by Michael Knost and Nancy Eden Siegel (Hummingbird House Press), is a clever concoction. Created as a double book, with one half dubbed Beautyshop Quartet, consisting of four original stories by women, and the other half dubbed Barbershop Quartet, consisting of four original stories by men. The stories all take place within either a barbershop or beautyshop. The strongest stories are by Lee Thomas, Tim Lebbon, and Rhodi Hawks.

Weirder Shadows over Innsmouth, edited by Stephen Jones (Fedogan & Bremer), is the third in a trilogy of anthologies inspired by the H. P. Lovecraft novella The Shadow over Innsmouth. The volume contains a poem by Lovecraft, sixteen reprints by various writers, and seven originals, including notable work by Conrad Williams, Michael Marshall Smith, Angela Slatter, and Brian Hodge. The Hodge is reprinted herein.

Psycho-Mania, edited by Stephen Jones (Robinson), features thirty-four stories, a little more than half of them new, with interstitial material by John Llewellyn Probert pulling the anthology together (so that all the stories are seen as case histories of patients in Crowsmoor asylum for the criminally insane), and an introduction by Robert Bloch (a previously unpublished essay). While all the originals are good, the strongest are by Brian Hodge, Robert Shearman, Rio Youers, Michael Marshall, and Kim Newman. The Shearman and Newman are reprinted herein.

Zombies: Shambling through the Ages, edited by Steve Berman (Prime), has more than thirty zombie stories, eight of them reprints, all taking place from pre-history through the early twentieth century. There are notable originals by Paul M. Berger, Samantha Henderson, Carrie Laben, Livia Llewellyn, L. Lark, and Aimee Payne.

Appalachian Undead, edited by Eugene Johnson and Jason Sizemore (Apex Publications), features twenty all new zombie stories. There are notable ones by Maurice Broaddus, Michael Paul Gonzalez, Paul Moore, Steve Rasnic Tem, and a good collaboration by John Skipp and Dori Miller. Mountain Dead, edited by Jason Sizemore and Eugene Johnson (Apex Publications), is a chapbook extension of the anthology (ebook only) with four more zombie stories.

Zippered Flesh 2: More Tales of Body Enhancement Gone Bad!, edited by Weldon Burges (Smart Rhino), has twenty-two stories, all but three new. The best are by Shaun Meeks, Lisa Mannetti, Christine Morgan, and Michael Bailey.

Space Eldritch II: The Haunted Stars, edited by Nathan Shumate (Gold Fusion Media), is an all original anthology of eleven Locraftian space operas.

For the Night is Dark, edited by Ross Warren (Crystal Lake Publishing), has twenty original stories about fear of the dark, and the best stories are by Ray Cluley, Benedict J. Jones, and Carole Johnstone. One story is by publisher Joe Mynhardt, something I’ve never before encountered. Sometimes editors include their own stories—in the case of big name author-editors, occasionally they are required by their publisher to include their own stories for marketing purposes—because they’re a big name. I personally think it’s a lousy idea because it means there’s no editorial choice at play and that’s one of the most crucial jobs of editing an anthology. There’s no excuse for a non-name to do so. But for the publisher to force his editor to include that publisher’s story? That’s a conflict of interest.

Ill at Ease II (Penman Press, no editor) is a short anthology of seven stories, following up from the 2011 three-writer chapbook Ill at Ease. The most interesting stories this time around are by Mark West and Robert Mammone.

Mister October: An Anthology in Memory of Rick Hautala volumes I and II (Journalstone Publishing) is an all-reprint anthology with 100 percent of the profits going to the Hautala family. Rick Hautala, a well-known figure in horror circles, died suddenly in March 2013. Some of the contributors include Peter Straub, Neil Gaiman, Sarah Langan, F. Paul Wilson, Sarah Pinborough, Joe Lansdale, Elizabeth Massie, and other prominent names in horror.

His Red Eyes, Again, edited by Julia Kruk and Tracy Lee (CreateSpace), celebrates the fortieth anniversary of The Dracula Society with thirteen stories, twelve by members. The best stories are by Chris Priestley and Laura Miller.

Chiral Mad 2, edited by Michael Bailey (CreateSpace), is a mix of twenty-eight new and reprinted psychological horror stories. The best of the originals are by Emily B. Cataneo, James Chambers, Patrick O’Neill, Andrew Hook, and Usman T. Malik.

The Tenth Black Book of Horror, edited by Charles Black (Mortbury Press), has fifteen stories, the strongest by Andrea Janes. This volume in the series is a bit too pulpy for my taste.

Hauntings, edited by Ellen Datlow (Tachyon Publications), is a reprint anthology of twenty-four stories of ghosts and other